GoAir launches Mumbai-Srinagar flights

Twice weekly flights now; frequency will be raised if required

BY A CORRESPONDENT
April 8, 2006

Low-cost airline GoAir launched its Mumbai-Srinagar direct flights on Thursday, becoming the first airline to fly this route. GoAir will operate two flights a day to Srinagar from Mumbai. If there is sufficient demand, GoAir will further hike the frequency, said GoAir chairman Jeh Wadia. The airline takes two hours and forty minutes to reach Jammu & Kashmir capital Srinagar from the country's financial capital Mumbai.

GoAir also announced its plan to start direct Delhi-Srinagar flights, as the airline takes possession of five more aircraft by the end of this year. "There will be no capacity constraints," said Jeh Wadia.

Many Indians have not seen snow and slopes typical of Kashmir, and Srinagar compares well with any world-class destination, said Jeh Wadia. GoAir hopes to tap into this demand.

Both Jeh Wadia and J&K deputy chief minister Muzaffar Baig travelled in the Mumbai-Srinagar inaugural flight. Baig said that efforts at improving peace in the insurgent-hit Kashmir valley have paid rich dividends. "Go has come and we wecome it," he said at the Srinagar airport.

Srinagar arport already handles nine flights a day, and the state government expects it to go up to 12 by the end of the year.

According to government official, besides passenger traffic, the GoAir Srinagar flight helps trade to, since perishables like vegetables and fruits can be transported quick.